


Running

by Scholastica



Series: A Different Path [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Female Severus Snape, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25905235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scholastica/pseuds/Scholastica
Summary: During the summer holidays, James and Sirius make a visit to Cokeworth that reveals some startling truths.
Relationships: James Potter/Severus Snape
Series: A Different Path [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879939
Comments: 57
Kudos: 292





	Running

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: This is Part 2 of the Marauders Era Series "A Different Path." While this is a one-shot, reading Part 1 is recommended since references are made to events in it. Please note, this story is slightly heavier in material than its predecessor (there are mentions of abuse).
> 
> Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.

Blue.

Lily Evans’ house was blue. James hadn’t been expecting that. Maybe a catchy shade of green or gold. Or even a nice red brick.

But not blue.

Definitely not blue.

It was a nice house, though. Just the kind of home he would expect the redhead to live in: Flower boxes in each window. Pristine white curtains fluttering in the breeze. A large, welcoming front porch…

“You’re sure you have the address right this time?”

The Gryffindor snapped quickly out of his musings about his classmate’s house and shot an annoyed stare at the other boy next to him.

“You saw the sign post yourself, Pads.”

Sirius Black smirked. “Only Muggles would think it would be a brilliant idea to put a Mulberry and a Mayberry next to each other when naming their streets.”

James disregarded his friend’s borderline derogatory comment – he really didn’t want to go there at the moment with the recent runaway because he knew it would be a topic he would be extremely sensitive about if pointed out – so he shoved his hands into his pockets and made a path for the house’s front door.

“C’mon,” he said, “let’s go see if Evans is home or not.”

Sirius jogged to catch up with him. “Moony and Wormtail are going to be _so_ jealous.”

“Yes, I know,” James said climbing the short flight of steps up to the porch, “you’ve only said that about twenty times.” He reached out and knocked on the door.

Sirius took the opportunity while they waited to jab an elbow into him. “Arse.”

James was just lifting his foot to smash down onto the other boy’s when the door in front of them suddenly opened and a graying-blond haired, green eyed woman appeared.

“Can I help you boys?” the lady asked.

James quickly righted himself – he’d get Sirius back later – and turned a winning smile on the woman he deduced had to be Lily’s mother.

“Mrs. Evans, I presume?” he said with a small bow, ignoring the chuckle that slipped from the teen beside him. Yes, he’d get him back later alright. “My name is James Potter. I’m a friend of your daughter’s – Lily – from school. I was wondering if she was home?”

“From school?” Mrs. Evans repeated surprised. “From – ”

“Hogwarts,” James finished. “Yes. We’re classmates of hers from there. In fact, we live in the same House.”

The woman’s eyebrows shot up. “You live in Gryffindor too?” she asked, her voice laced with a hint of excitement. It clearly wasn’t everyday others from her daughter’s mysterious school dropped by for a visit. “I haven’t met any of Lily’s friends from Gryffindor yet. I’ve heard her talk about plenty of them, of course, but haven’t met them. Only the one girl from down the way has been by, but she lives in a different House I understand. In fact, Lily went out to meet with her just a little bit ago.”

James digested this news with interest.

“Where, if you don’t mind my asking, did they go? Perhaps we could catch up with them.”

“Oh,” Mrs. Evans smiled. “I don’t mind at all.” She stepped out onto the porch and raised her arm pointing eastward. “Just walk that way for about five minutes and you’ll find a small park with a playground. Lily and her friend like to meet up there most of the time.” She let out a small trill of laughter. “Not to play, of course. Just to talk and maybe walk around. If you boys are lucky and feeling at all hungry, sometimes an ice cream van parks nearby.”

James and Sirius looked at each other.

Evans. Playground. Ice cream.

Well, this should be fun.

* * *

Except as soon as James and Sirius arrived at the aforementioned park, the lighthearted air the two had been feeling since leaving the Evans residence vanished immediately, and there was only one reason for it… 

“Snape,” Sirius breathed as the two boys approached the first edges of the playground.

And indeed it was. Her raven-colored hair and deathly pale complexion were hard to miss next to the radiant spot of sunshine that was Lily Evans. That, and James could see the dark expressive pools of her eyes even from their still considerable distance away.

_Oh Mercury._ Those eyes…he had been both trying to catch and avoid those eyes for months.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Sirius,” he growled.

“Excuse me?!” the other boy balked. “Please don’t tell me you are going to lecture me _again_ on all that nonsense. It was _months_ ago.”

“I’m not,” James replied. And he wasn’t. He had already said his piece when it had needed to be said and the other Gryffindor was more than aware of this. “I just mean that as a general rule of thumb.”

Sirius flicked his head tossing his long hair over his shoulders. “You’re one to talk.”

James knew it. But he had been trying. Ever since that night by the Whomping Willow… _Merlin_ , he had been trying.

His friend shuffled his feet impatiently. “Well, are we going to go see Evans or not?”

James stared at the two girls, his mind whirling faster than it had all summer, and ran a hand through his hair, nervous. 

Nervous about what, though?

Nothing, he decided. He had nothing to be nervous about, and he dropped his hand and said, “Yeah, let’s go.”

But just as he and Sirius rounded the large climbing frame that slightly obscured them from the young women, Snape noticed them and her eyes instantly locked with his, and it was like that night of the full moon all over again.

Fear.

Fury.

Hurt.

_Tears._

And running. Snape was running away. From him. Again. And Lily was asking, “What are you doing here?” But this time, unlike last, he didn’t stand there and watch or even bother answering Lily’s question. He ran too, and just vaguely heard as the redhead shouted, “Don’t be mean to her, Potter!” as he made a mad dash down a street and neighborhood he knew nothing of after a girl who seemingly wanted nothing to do with him.

* * *

“Snape, wait!” he called.

But she didn’t wait, just as he knew she wouldn’t, so he ran harder, faster, his legs experiencing the most exercise they probably had in a couple months.

“Are we really doing this?”

Sirius.

James ignored him, somewhat surprised he had followed along, but hoping he wasn’t expecting some sort of show with the fleeing girl.

He wasn’t getting one.

* * *

It was several minutes later when Snape finally slowed, or tripped rather, as her shoe, a ratty old thing James noted, caught on a giant crack in the crumbling pavement and sent her flying onto the hard ground, her wand, which she must have had tucked up her shirt sleeve, shooting several feet off into the grass.

“Snape,” he wheezed, sprinting over to the girl. “Snape, are you – ”

The witch rolled immediately away at his approach. “No!” she cried. “Don’t you dare touch me!” She pulled herself up into a sitting position and swiped a hand hastily at her face, angling it so he and Sirius couldn’t properly see her. “Don’t you dare do anything to me!”

James flinched slightly at her harsh tone and raised his hands up before him in a placating manner. “I’m not going to do anything to you,” he said. “I just want to help you.”

The girl let out a bitter laugh. “ _You_ – help me?!” She shook her head, her long ponytail swishing back and forth with the movement. “You can help me by leaving!”

A few feet away, Sirius retrieved her wand from where it had fallen in the grass and handed it silently to James who immediately held it out to the witch.

“Look,” he said, “I have your wand. You dropped it when –”

Instantly, that had Snape’s attention as she propelled herself to her feet and whipped around to face him with flashing eyes.

“Give it to me!” she snapped, and she thrust her skinny arm out, her palm facing upward, waiting.

James stared for a moment at her hand, then flicked his eyes to her face.

Then his gaze didn’t move again.

“What –” he began, his speech warbling a little, “what happened to your face? Did – did somebody hit you?”

And truly it looked like someone had struck her, because there, on the girl’s left cheek, was the sizeable ugly mark of a bruise, dark and purple in color signifying it was freshly done.

The girl’s face bloomed red, a sharp contrast to the contusion. “How dare you ask me such a question!” she snarled. “How dare you even think you have permission to ask me such a thing at all! Now give me my wand!”

James ignored her demand; there was a bigger matter to get to the bottom of – one that made his stomach turn in a most unpleasant way. But he had to know.

He _needed_ to know.

He took a deep breath and took a shaky step closer.

“Somebody hit you, didn’t they?” he whispered. _Didn’t they?!_ The words lingered on repeat in his head.

The girl didn’t answer, but she had tears now forming in her eyes, and that was response enough for the Marauder. Next to him, Sirius, who had been strangely quiet throughout the entire encounter so far, had his hands clenched into fists.

“Who?” James asked.

The girl turned her head, the first of the tears slipping down her cheeks and running silently over the awful bruise there. “I just want my wand,” she said pleadingly, and James’ heart leapt at her desperate tone, much like it had so many months ago. “Please.”

The Gryffindor scrubbed at his face with his free hand, the limb, he noticed, trembling. Now was not the time to give into emotion, though. He needed answers.

Even if he did upset the witch.

Even if he upset himself.

“I’m going to give it to you,” he finally replied gently. “But first, tell me who did that to you?”

She sneered, an attempt no doubt at regaining some composure. “It’s nothing worse than what you both have done to me before.”

James let the comment roll off of him. He knew it had been coming, but it didn’t mean he would give up.

“Just tell me, Snape, please” he tried once again. Then, because of anger at what had been done to the young woman, added recklessly, “You shouldn’t be somebody else’s punching bag.”

The Slytherin stiffened at his words, and he knew, even if his intent had been in the right place, it was not the right thing to say.

“Somebody else’s punching bag?” the girl repeated. She turned and glared at him. “That’s rich coming from you!” And she reached out and snatched her wand away from him.

She was just preparing to take off again, her body flexed and ready to go, when James grabbed her hand before she could.

Silence reigned for a long moment, the girl’s palm and fingers so slim and delicate feeling in his own, then,

“You’re wrong, Snape,” he breathed. “I would never do _that_ to you. Not ever.”

She looked at him, her eyes meeting his for just a briefest moment, then she ripped herself away from him and fled, her tatty trainers slapping the pavement to a rhythm much like the one beating in his chest.

* * *

Ten minutes later, James and Sirius made their way slowly back to the park they had found Snape and Lily at a short time before, their mood much darker than it had been when they began their adventure that morning.

Lily Evans sat on a swing as if she was waiting for them.

“You saw the bruise, didn’t you?” the redhead asked sadly upon their approach, her question more a statement than anything else.

James lifted his glasses off and rubbed at his temples. “Yeah, we saw it.”

He couldn’t _unsee_ it. Nor could he ignore the persistent lead-like feeling in his stomach that wouldn’t go away because of it.

Sirius kicked his foot into one of the poles of the swing set. “Who did it?” he demanded, the first words he had spoken since their chase after the fleeing witch. James looked at him and was a little surprised just how upset the other boy seemed.

He shouldn’t have been, though, because if there was anyone else who could possibly understand…

Lily swept a hand through her long ginger-colored locks. “From what I’ve gathered, most likely her father.” She looked gloomily down at her shoes, a much nicer, more expensive pair than Snape had been wearing and frowned. “She doesn’t talk about it, though. Not with any straight answers at least. But some of the things she’s said over the years…” The girl shrugged. “I can put two and two together.”

James settled heavily down onto the grass and mindlessly picked some with his fingers, rolling the blades between his digits for lack of anything else to do.

“Why doesn’t anyone do anything about it?” he questioned a moment later, his eyes perhaps for the first time ever looking at Lily Evans with something akin to accusation. “Investigate what’s going on? Find out if – if -” He raked a hand through his hair, unable to finish what he was going to say.

“Find out if she’s being abused?”

James whipped his head once more in Sirius’ direction. The other boy returned his stare for a moment then looked away; his jaw clenched. 

Lily scowled. “I’ve tried,” she bit out. “Or at least my mum has – put in a complaint with the local Muggle Child Protection Service.” She ran her hands along the swing’s chains and huffed. “Nothing’s ever come of it, though.”

James tossed the now balled-up grass blades away from him. “Well, what about our world?” he demanded. “Surely, they would be more likely to –”

Lily let out a loud laugh. “You’re joking right, Potter?” she scoffed. “The Magical community?!” She flicked some hair that had fallen over her shoulder behind her. “You honestly think _they_ would listen to _me_?!”

The Gryffindor flushed. “Okay,” he said after an awkward moment’s pause, “well, what about our professors? McGonagall would certainly never stand for such a thing.”

The girl shook her head. “Vivian won’t let me.”

James blinked. “What?”

The redhead let out a long sigh, perhaps tired of the questions she had pondered herself many times over. “She made me promise her – magically, in case you’re wondering – I wouldn’t mention any of this to anyone at school.”

“What?! Why?”

Lily just stared at him as if he was completely thick.

“Because, Potter,” she sneered, “she doesn’t exactly trust people.” She glanced between him and Sirius. “A couple guesses why.” 

The witch pushed herself up from the swing and made as if she was going to leave, walking right past the two wizards. Then she stopped and turned and faced them one last time. “That, and she’s scared of what would happen.”

* * *

Sirius looked out his bedroom window and watched James circle high in the air, lazily practicing Quidditch maneuvers on his new Cleansweep his parents had bought him earlier in the Summer. At least, the bespectacled Gryffindor had said it was practice, but Sirius knew otherwise: It was a distraction, plain and simple.

But not really. Because he knew better. And he knew his fellow Marauder did too.

Nothing, he thought as he dropped the curtain he had been holding bunched in his hand for the past minute, would make him forget what he had seen that day. Because bruises, while faded from the skin, never faded from memory.

The former heir of House Black knew that better than anyone.

Throwing himself onto the king-sized bed that encompassed at least a third of the room, Sirius rolled onto his stomach and stared dully at the rich mahogany wall across from him.

He felt low.

Probably the lowest he had ever felt.

Even more so than the moment when he realized his family – his mother and father – didn’t truly care about him. Didn’t love him.

Because that was out of his control.

But…

But his actions toward a fellow classmate of his – a shy, quiet, beat-down-by-the-world girl who he knew nothing truly of until today. Who he had mocked and teased and ridiculed and very nearly caused to get – 

_Killed._

He pressed his face into the mattress.

That had been totally in his control.

And it made him sick.

It made him feel vile.

It made him _think_.

And that was the moment when he knew everything was going to change.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so from here the story is going to branch in two different directions (two different endings). One where a JP/SS pairing is endgame, and another where it is SB/SS. How would you like to see the ending go? Let me know in the comments!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!


End file.
